1.
great cormorant; river cormorant
A large black waterbird that dives to catch fish. Found along rivers and lakes throughout Japan, and closely associated with the traditional practice of cormorant fishing.
川鵜が水に潜って魚を捕った。
A cormorant dove into the water and caught a fish.
川岸の岩の上で川鵜が羽を広げて乾かしていた。
A cormorant was spreading its wings to dry on a rock by the riverbank.
長良川の鵜飼いでは、訓練された川鵜を使って鮎を捕る。
In cormorant fishing on the Nagara River, trained cormorants are used to catch sweetfish.
Composed of 川 (river) and 鵜 (cormorant). The cormorant is a skilled diving bird that can swallow fish whole. Its black plumage and habit of drying its wings with them spread wide are distinctive features seen along Japanese waterways.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 川鵜の群れ: flock of cormorants
- 川鵜が潜る: cormorant dives
- 川鵜が羽を広げる: cormorant spreads its wings
CULTURAL NOTES:
Cormorant fishing (鵜飼い) is a traditional fishing method over 1,300 years old, designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. The most famous location is the Nagara River in Gifu, where 鵜匠 (cormorant masters) fish by torchlight from boats. The poet Matsuo Basho wrote about it.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 海鵜: Japanese cormorant — the species actually used in 鵜飼い, found along the coast
- 鵜: cormorant — the general term for any cormorant